Ben Bloom

Did you know: The average London Marathon runner brings 5.4 people to watch and the average watching person goes to 2.2 locations. How the London Marathon grew from a pipe dream into the world's biggest marathon, for the new @ObserverUK https://t.co/dmzAUA5Xda

Mikel Arteta will have spent more arduous Easter Sundays attempting to hunt hidden chocolate eggs. Report from Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal. https://t.co/fkOBxkWO80

For so much of this match, Watford did a mighty job against Premier League-bound, clean-sheet titans Burnley. Then they had two men sent off. Game over. Match report from Watford 1-2 Burnley. https://t.co/NKXHsdRqIp

Usain Bolt appeared on Justin Gatlin's podcast recently. It was captivating, but also a bit strange. Is it naive to think that everyone in sport possesses the same disdain for dopers? Read the full piece in the latest @AthleticsWeekly here: https://t.co/wl76rVXANX https://t.co/E8SGxx2VZc

“They say if you shoot for the moon, you reach the stars. But occasionally you end up at the bottom of the ocean.” Held hostage by a disreputable owner who doesn't care, Reading fans cling onto the club they love. A cautionary tale for English football. https://t.co/1w4pkKuXha

Southampton nearly won a match. But then, at the end, they didn’t. Match report from St Mary’s, where the battle to avoid being the worst team in Premier League history remains. https://t.co/NTjYNWWWnU

“We don’t have an ice track and we’re still beating them. It’s a kick in the teeth for everyone else.” GB have skeleton gold and silver-medal favourites for next year’s Winter Olympics. Yet there’s not a single ice track in Britain. So what’s the secret? https://t.co/T97hRJxs31

“I want to finish my track career on my terms, not epilepsy’s.” Last summer, near the end of the European 10,000m final, Olympian Jess Warner-Judd collapsed on the track and suffered two seizures. It’s been a rollercoaster, but now she’s back. https://t.co/EBYta6Xsrb

“Five days after I learned I was pregnant, I found out on TV that I was to become Zimbabwe’s sports minister. It was a surprise.” From the archives: A 2019 interview with the newly elected IOC president Kirsty Coventry. It’s been a big six years since. https://t.co/Ac9hTJrbor

More and more Brits are ditching the Cheltenham Festival to watch horse racing’s biggest week in Benidorm instead. I went to find out why. It was quite something. https://t.co/QxRqQCyTjB

A penalty shootout, a wonder strike, an extraordinary red card (punch, kick, head-butt combo) and the very worst of video officiating. That will teach the television companies for making this the only FA Cup fifth-round tie not chosen for broadcast. https://t.co/f0PRIjenYM

Billionaires, bitcoin and a bitter battle over Bedford’s football clubs. A delve into the compelling story (and likely merger) of Real Bedford and Bedford Town - and everything it says about the changing world of non-league football. https://t.co/UZnVGpPpqB

Fabian Hurzeler said his Brighton side "were the lucky winner" in the battle between two unlikely European-chasing clubs. Match report from Brighton 2-1 Bournemouth. https://t.co/uroz4gOvRJ

A familiar story all round: Two more Alexander Isak goals and a gallant, but futile, Southampton defeat. Match report from Newcastle's 3-1 win on the south coast. https://t.co/lmJJX27Ny3

“You’d think the death of two individuals would cause outcry. But it hasn’t.” On the sixth anniversary of Emiliano Sala’s death, Cardiff City’s chairman has urged a crackdown on football’s shady transfer industry. Exclusive interview for @guardian_sport. https://t.co/vU1LFoR6mt

It might sound like a joke, but a World Treadmill Championships would be good for athletics. A column for @AthleticsWeekly. Read the latest issue here: https://t.co/wl76rVXANX https://t.co/LPFXeazX3y

Southampton are surely doomed. But there was some rare encouragement in this performance, even if new manager Ivan Juric did urge his players to be "more like bastards". Match report from West Ham's 1-0 win over Southampton. https://t.co/XgHq4fSoRr